


Personal Decisions of Affection

by DanHasOTPs



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Communication, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Relationship Study, Smooching, Trust, alcohol mention, shadow and rouge are bffs, shadow is a big softie, sonic is besotted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28391559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanHasOTPs/pseuds/DanHasOTPs
Summary: Sonic and Shadow have never been good at talking. They've always been better at taking action, but sometimes talking has it's advantages.Mostly fluff with a bit of hurt-comfort thrown in!
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 13
Kudos: 74





	Personal Decisions of Affection

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silvermun (simplydrastic)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplydrastic/gifts).



> Welcome! I wrote this fic for Silvermun on tumblr as a thanks for all their wonderful art! It's also taken from their hc of how Sonic and Shadow interact.
> 
> Besides that, hope you enjoy the fic!

One thing that had been clear from the start was that Shadow wasn’t a fan of affection. At least, not in front of other people. 

In private, it still wasn’t that easy. Years of being treated like a lab rat and having tests performed on you against your will would do that to anyone. 

But Shadow still loved being held by and holding Sonic on his terms.

Often, Shadow would arrive home after a mission and find Sonic waiting on his couch. Sometimes Rouge would be there too, if he’d been sent out alone. 

They’d be watching a wild variety of things, from rom-coms to thrillers, the best and the worst. 

But as soon as Shadow entered the apartment, Sonic’s attention would shift. 

He’d greet Shadow casually if Rouge was there. If he was alone, he’d zip over to Shadow and wait.

More often than not, Shadow would step close and embrace him, Sonic wrapping Shadow into his arms as he felt the tension seep out of the agent.

If Rouge were there, he’d stay seated until Shadow left for his bedroom. Then he’d just follow him and close the door softly behind him, waiting for Shadow to make a move.

And when Shadow sighed, he let him go. 

If they were both free and spending the day together, Shadow often had moments where he suddenly ached for affection. 

Over time, Sonic had gotten pretty good at reading Shadow. Especially after one late night when they’d just started dating, the dark hedgehog confided that he had trouble recognizing and vocalizing his emotions.

Just the fact that Shadow had opened up and trusted Sonic enough to be vulnerable around him, was something that pushed Sonic to be a little more attentive to Shadow’s moods.

And paying that little bit of attention had rewarded him greatly. Their relationship bloomed with the knowledge.

Suddenly, Shadow’s stoicism didn’t feel like a wall between them, but more as someone that preferred silence and safety over awkwardly trying to emote.

And then they rediscovered that, while words were nice and gave clarity, their love language was never going to be spoken.

Since the very beginning they’d always communicated with physicality, weather by fighting, running and sparring later on.

No. Their love was hot drinks delivered without asking and making or ordering the others favourite meals as a surprise.

Sonic’s favourite thing, however, was when Shadow held his hand and just _squeezed_ as he looked into his eyes and smiled softly.

Sonic didn’t need to hear Shadow’s “I love you” when he could feel it with his entire being in those moments.

The trouble with this method of communication was that Shadow really intensely disliked public displays of affection.

Sonic had never really thought about it before Shadow had chaos controlled away after he’d kissed the dark hedgehog in the middle of a party.

He’d quickly made up an excuse for Shadow and then left himself, heading straight for Shadow’s place.

As soon as he entered, Sonic felt the anger and hurt leave him.

Shadow was sitting on his bed, knees pulled to his chest and blanket over his shoulders as he looked out the window. His ears were folded back and his brows furrowed.

Sonic’s kiss had clearly upset Shadow more than he even thought possible.

Sonic himself had been pissed at Shadow leaving him so suddenly, but there was clearly more behind it than he thought.

They hadn’t really talked about it that night, Instead, He joined him under the blanket and they’d sat there for a long time, taking comfort in each other's presence.

And after that, Sonic never really tried to show his love in public again, at least, not in their way.

He’d still bump shoulders and pat him on the back, like he’d do with Tails or Knuckles, but besides that he stayed back.

And they never really talked about it again after. It just was.

But then Sonic’s birthday rolled around.

That morning Shadow had been called up for a time sensitive mission. It wouldn’t be long, but it needed to happen _now._

So at 5 am, Shadow promised Sonic he’d be back in time for his party, kissed him goodbye and sped off into the dark.

Only half awake from Shadow’s work ringtone, Sonic just curled up into the warm spot Shadow left behind and fell back asleep.

Later that day, the party was in full swing, but Shadow was nowhere to be seen.

Still, he trusted that his boyfriend would keep his word.

And he did.

15 minutes later a freshly showered striped hedgehog walked into the living room, his fur and quills still shining with excess water.

He only gave an acknowledging nod to the blue blur before heading into the kitchen. He’d probably spotted Rouge, who was preparing herself a fancy colourful drink.

And then Sonic was pulled into a conversation with Knuckles and Mighty. He lost track of time. He lost track of Shadow.

And later, when the party was still going strong, even as night became morning, he finally broke free from the group to find his partner.

Shadow was sitting on the couch next to Rouge, who was talking with Blaze and Silver. She had a hand resting on Shadow’s arm and kept checking subtly in on him as she continued to converse.

Usually Shadow didn’t let anyone touch him for extended amounts of time in public. Not even Rouge or Omega. Not even Sonic.

And then he saw the look in Shadow’s eyes. He looked miles away, but not how he usually got lost in thought.

Sonic recognized the look. It was his coping mechanism. He would tune out everything going on around him and focus on grounding himself.

It’s why he hadn’t shaken Rouge’s hand off yet.

But by the looks of it, it wasn’t working.

When they were alone, Sonic would hug him or sit in his lap. Once Shadow had even asked him to lay on top of him and rub behind his ear. That had been a bad day for Shadow.

But they weren’t alone. Rouge and Blaze and Silver were right there, not to mention the chaotics in the corner and everyone else coming and going from the kitchen.

He took another look at his partner and made up his mind. Maybe Shadow would be displeased about it later, but for now Sonic would rather deal with it then and take care of his love now.

He walked over, kneeling in front of the dark hedgehog. The room already quieted. They all had Rouge tell them off the entire evening, so seeing someone approach made the tension rise suddenly.

“Hey Shadow...” Sonic softly called out.

He slowly made to hold the others hands, which were clenched in his lap.

Carefully smoothing over the top, he gently but firmly peeled the fingers away from the palms and squeezed.

“It’s okay, you’re at my house.” He softly said, “Rouge is here too. You’re okay.” he kept going. 

Usually the combination of pressure, movement and sound helped a lot.

And it did. Little by little Shadow’s eyes became a bit more clear, a bit more bright.

“Can I hug you?” Sonic asked after rubbing a few more circles into the back of his boyfriend’s hands.

Shadow gave an almost imperceptible nod and he was in Sonic’s arms not a second later.

“Deep breaths, babe.” He guided kindly.

Unbeknown to them, everyone’s attention had been drawn to the pair. It wasn’t often that people got reminded they were together. It had been common knowledge for a while now, but to outside eyes nothing much had actually changed between them. A couple snipes at each other here and there, some arguing and occasionally some teamwork, if Shadow was in a good mood.

But they hadn’t seen anything like this. Shadow usually just left if he was ‘in a bad mood’. Now it was clear that there was a lot more going on than the striped hedgehog being grumpy.

And everyone knew Sonic as a kind person, but usually he wasn’t the type to use the calm and gentle method of helping. Normally he’d suggest doing something or using overenthusiastic cheer to distract and redirect.

Seeing them together like this wasn’t rare. It was unheard of.

But Sonic hadn’t noticed they’d drawn all eyes to them. He was too focused on helping ground his love.

Slowly, he felt the muscles in Shadow’s back loosen and finally Shadow sighed into him, followed by him suddenly tensing up again in an entirely different way.

“What’s wrong?” Sonic started asking as he pulled back, but just as he finished talking, he realised what had happened.

Knowing Shadow was about to flee, he grabbed onto him.

“It’s okay, Shadow.” Sonic tried to comfort him. 

“No one here is going to make fun of you, right?” He said more to the crowd than to Shadow.

There were various noises of agreement around the room, before everyone very obviously tried to ignore them.

Still feeling Shadow’s stiff posture, he guided them away from the crowd and into the privacy of his bedroom upstairs.

The dark counterpart heavily sat down on Sonic’s unmade bed, leaning his arms on his knees as he glared at the floor.

Sonic closed the door behind him and leaned against it, guessing that physical contact wouldn’t be appreciated right now.

The silence hung heavy between them.

Sonic was the one who broke it.

“Shadow…” He started softly, but no reaction came, “I know you don’t like me touching you in public, but I wanted to help you.” Sonic took a breath. 

“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable, but I want to understand why.” 

He pushed himself from the door and kneeled in front of his boyfriend for the second time that night, forcing himself into the others' field of vision.

Finally Shadow made eye contact with him and Sonic felt a wave of relief wash over him. Shadow was willing to talk.

Shadow closed his eyes and let out another sigh before looking at him again.

“It’s.. pretty stupid.” He started slowly.

Sonic just waited patiently, knowing that putting words to feelings was something that took Shadow time and effort. The best thing he could do for Shadow was be quiet as he sorted his thoughts.

“I... Your friends, they tend to make fun of anything unusual I do. I did not want to change my habits because of that.” He looked back to the carpet.

“I do not want what we have to become a reason to poke more fun at you or me.” He finished in a low voice.

Hearing Shadow’s confession, Sonic felt overwhelmed by the love he felt for the man in front of him.

He took Shadow’s face between his hands and forced him to look at bright emerald eyes.

“I love you so much, Shadow the Hedgehog.” He declared fondly, before leaning in and placing a small peck on the others lips.

Shadow welcomed it and the reassurance it gave.

They broke apart a second later, Sonic smiling like a goof and Shadow’s seriousness had melted into tenderness.

“I wish you’d told me sooner, though. Then I could have told you that I personally told all of them to keep their smart mouths to themselves.” Sonic added with a hint of ironic humour.

“Wait, you did what?” Shadow asked.

“I know my friends. And I know how they are.” Sonic elaborated.

“I feel similar, to be honest.” Sonic confessed, “But I didn’t want to bring it up after last time I kissed you around others and you ran away.” Sonic said sheepishly.

“We never really talked about it after.” He continued, “I guess we should have!” He laughed softly.

Shadow just huffed and looked away, but the blue blur could see him secretly smiling anyway.

Getting up from the floor, he pulled Shadow up with him and crowded him until their noses touched.

“C’mon, Shads. Give me another kiss. I think we can both use-”

Soft dry lips sealed over his own and cut him off, but he didn’t mind. 

They broke apart again and Sonic suddenly found he wanted the party to be over already.

“Sonic?” Shadow questioned softly.

“You wanna ditch the others and go to your house? I figure since it’s my birthday I can do whatever I want.” He cheekily proposed.

“As if you need it to be your birthday for you to do that.” Shadow quipped back, squeezing Sonic's hand at the same time.

“Y’know, I’d start arguing with you, but there are things I’d much rather do that involve our mouths!” He sniped back.

“By all means, lead the way.” The striped hedgehog invited with a small gesture towards the open window.

Two flashes later and the room they’d occupied was empty, leaving their friends and their troubles behind for tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Kudos and comments (including constructive criticism) welcome!
> 
> Another thanks to Silvermun on tumblr for giving me the inspiration to write this!


End file.
